


A Hot Cocoa Dawn

by Life_sans_Sin



Series: Romancing the Bone [2]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Papyrus is the best brother, Slightly - Freeform, first sunrise
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-31
Updated: 2017-08-31
Packaged: 2018-12-22 07:20:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,503
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11962488
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Life_sans_Sin/pseuds/Life_sans_Sin
Summary: A sleepless night after a series of horror films turns into something far more touching than you could have imagined as you and Sans experience your first sunrise together.[[ Part 2 of Romancing the Bone series ]]





	A Hot Cocoa Dawn

The movie night had been a phenomenal success, with snacks aplenty and horror films galore. Undyne and Alphys had brought over some horror genre anime that ended up being watched too, and aside from the embarrassing sex scenes in a few of them, you didn’t think they ended up really being that scary.

 

‘A little fucked up,’ you thought to yourself, watching as a girl ripped her own fingernails out, wincing ever so slightly and curling your fingers into a fist protectively.

 

Undyne laughed and hooted at the scene, slapping her knee and laughing as Alphys scooted even closer to her fish-monster girlfriend. Papyrus was appalled by the scene, loudly asking why on earth the girl in the anime would do such a thing to herself, and even though he was the largest monster there, he raised a hand to hide his eye sockets behind his gloves once the blood started rolling.

 

Sans was the most silent. He’d been quiet pretty well through all of the movies’ gorier scenes, his eye lights small and dim. You looked up from your place on the floor leaning against the couch and frowned, shooting him a questioning, ‘Are you okay?’ look. He waved it off, though, and so you turned back to the television, snagging a handful of popcorn and shoving it into your mouth.

 

The rest of the movies went on like that until, eventually, people started falling asleep. Sans was first, of course, though from the way his ribcage moved with breath told you he probably wasn’t actually asleep. (You’d figured out the hard way that skeletons didn’t need to breathe after Sans fell asleep in the bath tub. Needless to say, you’d panicked and ended up startling both skeletons with your screaming.)

 

Undyne was next, falling asleep with her head leaned back against the couch, and Papyrus gently maneuvered her so that he could put a pillow beneath her head.

 

“IT’S BAD FOR YOUR NECK TO SLEEP LIKE THAT,” he said sternly to nobody in particular before he got up and headed to his room, more than likely to read until morning.

 

Alphys dozed off in her girlfriend’s lap, leaning against her strong chest and her tail curling around herself protectively. You were the last one awake, so you took the opportunity to eject the weird anime and put on something more pleasant to fall asleep to.

 

About an hour into _10 Things I Hate About_ _You_ was when you started hearing an odd grating sound, and you turned to glance over your shoulder and saw Sans was grinding his teeth in his sleep. You winced, thinking about how that couldn’t be good for him, and turned back to your movie.

 

Twenty minutes passed and you heard him starting to talk to himself, muttering things that were unintelligible under his breath that you couldn’t understand. His sockets were completely open now, unnervingly, and were dark, void of their usual lights. Frowning, you sat up on your knees and turned around to wake him, gently putting a hand on his arm and giving a light shake.

 

The muttering increased, and his ribs started to rattle as he drew in deep, uneven breaths.

 

“Sans.”

 

The darkness in his sockets seemed to be pulling you in, you couldn’t look away from them, and you so desperately wanted them to light back up again.

 

“Sans!” you whispered loudly, wanting to wake him, but not wanting to wake anybody else. If he was having a nightmare, surely he’d appreciate that, right?

 

“Kid, please...please stop…” he murmured, his voice the most pained you’d ever heard it, and you redoubled your efforts, grabbing him by the shoulders and shaking him.

 

“San-”

 

The darkness in his left socket suddenly burst into life, full of cyan flames and smoke that licked up the side of his skull angrily, as if trying to burn away whatever memory he was reliving. His hand locked around one of your wrists painfully tight, and you yelped, instinctively jerking away from him with all of your weight, but it didn’t budge.

 

“HUMAN?” You look up to see Papyrus standing in his doorway, a concerned look on his face until he seemed to realize what’s going on. He crossed the room in a couple long strides and placed his hand over Sans’, his eye sockets beginning to glow a vibrant tangerine. “Brother, listen to me. The date is December 31st of 20XX. I am safe. You are safe.” You’d never heard Papyrus speak so slowly or quietly before, his tone of voice even and steady as he spoke to his brother. Slowly, you could feel the pressure around your wrist lessening, and you looked at Sans’ face to see that his furiously glowing eye socket was beginning to dim as well. “You are safe. Everyone is safe.”

 

Finally, Sans’ trembling hand was able to be pried off of your wrist, and you quickly pulled your hand back, inspecting the damage. A heavy imprint of his bones encircled your wrist in angry red marks, and you were certain that it was going to bruise. Other than that and being more than a little freaked out, you were okay.

 

“There we go, brother. Everything is okay.”

 

“P-Papyrus…?” You looked back to see his eyelights had returned, though they were incredibly dim and small, like pinpricks of light. “And… oh.” You’d never heard so much regret in a single “oh” in your life, and it made your heart sink. “Oh, god, what- … Did I…?”

 

“They are fine,” Papyrus spoke up before you could say anything, and while your wrist throbbed, you nodded. This, at least, seemed to help Sans relax a bit, slumping against the couch. “I will make you some hot chocolate.” The taller skeleton stood upright, giving his brother’s hand a squeeze before letting it fall back to the couch. “Human, why don’t you and Sans go outside for some fresh air?”

 

You nod silently, and the skeleton fixes you with a wide grin, ruffling your already mussed hair before heading as quietly as he could into the kitchen. From the other room, you could hear cabinets opening and closing as Papyrus set to work supposedly making hot cocoa, and you listened to him work for a moment before you turned back to Sans.

 

He was sitting with his head in his hands, eye sockets closed as he rubbed at his temples with his bony fingertips. You could hear the slight grating sound of bone against bone as he did so, and the sound was oddly soothing after the near heart attack you just had.

 

“Hey, let’s go sit outside for a bit,” you offer, standing up and reaching for the blanket folded and strewn across the back of the couch. You reach with your injured wrist at first, not thinking, and wince when the twinge of pain shoots through it. Using your other hand, you grab it and carefully wrap it around your shoulders, holding it with your good hand and offering your other to him.

 

He looks up at you, and you’re more relieved than you feel you should be to see that his sockets are still lit. His luminescent pupils widen as he looks at you, and he nods, taking your hand…

 

...and holding it while he pulled up your sleeve, showing off the already purpling mark there. A grunt of discomfort escaped you before you could stop it, and he’s quick to pull his hands back, getting to his feet on his own and heading for the door leading out to the deck. You follow close behind, pulling your arms inside the blanket and shivering as the door opens, letting in a burst of the wintery night air. It’s crisp and clean feeling, like a long drink of ice water after a hot day, and you feel refreshed as you take in a deep breath of it.

 

The stars dotted the night sky like tiny diamonds, glistening in the light of the crescent-shaped moon that hung high in the sky. You caught Sans staring up at it with a yearning you didn’t fully understand.

 

“Sorry about the wrist,” he muttered, gripping the railing in front of him tightly in his bony hands. “Guess I just needed a hand, haha.” His laugh sounded empty, void of any real mirth, and you frowned, walking over to him and leaning against the railing.

 

“It wasn’t on purpose. ...I’m not mad at you, Sans.”

 

“No, but y’ were scared of me.”

 

You sighed a bit in exasperation, thinking it over, unknowing of the fact that the silence was killing him. You turned around and rested your hand on his, running your thumb across the bony ridges on the back of his hand running from his fingers to his wrist. He stiffened, almost like he wanted to pull away, but you’re glad when he stayed put.

 

“Yes, I was.” He flinched and moved to pull his hand away, but you hold it still, tightening your grip on him. “I was scared because I didn’t know what was going on with you, Sans. We’ve been dating for a couple months now, but I feel like I hardly know anything about you!” Swallowing down your sudden surge of emotion, you pulled your hand away, resting it on the railing, close enough that you could still feel his warmth. “Just… Tonight made me realize that. I’m glad Papyrus was there to help, otherwise, I… I don’t know if I would have been able to help you…”

 

There’s silence between the two of you for a while, interrupted by the sliding door being opened behind you. Papyrus stepped out with two steaming mugs overflowing with marshmallows and set them on the patio table before quietly making his exit. You reach for one of the cups and hold it between both your hands, the warmth spreading through them to the rest of you.

 

“It’s uh, ready to drink,” Sans said quietly, and when you gave him a confused look, he rolled his shoulders in a shrug. “Paps always waits to bring it out until it’s cooled off enough to drink safely. ‘S ‘cause of the kid.”

 

The kid. You’re pulled back to his mutterings during his nightmare, and you want so badly to ask, but the words die on your tongue when you see how relaxed Sans looked. Just sitting on the deck, looking at the stars with a cup of hot chocolate… He looked like he needed it, so you stayed silent. That would be a question for another time.

 

You take a hesitant sip of the sweet cocoa to find that, just as Sans had said, it was just the right temperature to drink. It warmed your throat, and the sweet taste melted over your tongue, and as you thoughtfully chewed on a marshmallow, you leaned against Sans’ side.

 

“Does he always put these many marshmallows in your cocoa?”

 

Sans snorted and nodded, finally reaching back to pick up his own cup, his mouth forming and moving slightly as he took a drink. When he pulled his mug away you stifled a giggle, staring at the melted marshmallow mess stuck to the front of his teeth. He raised a brow bone at you, and you smiled, showing off your teeth and tapping on them with an index finger.

 

“You’ve got a little something…”

 

Sans’ eyelights flicked downward as if he were trying to look at his teeth, a pale blue flush crossing over his cheeks.

 

“Oh, whoops.” His teeth parted and a glowing blue tongue slipped out, running across the front of his teeth and effectively clearing away the marshmallows. You felt your face burn with a blush and, try as you might, you couldn’t look away. When his tongue finally disappeared back behind his teeth, you broke your gaze, but not before he caught you staring. “What? Feeling a little _tongue-tied_?”

 

“Sans, I swear to God--”

 

“Well, that doesn’t make a _lick_ of sense!”

 

“Saaaans!” you whined, shoving your shoulder into his and knocking him off balance a bit. He righted himself with a chuckle, setting his mug down on the table behind him. You fixed him with a pout and moved away, plopping down into one of the patio chairs with a small huff.

 

“Sorry, I know those jokes were in _bad taste_.” He seemed positively thrilled with himself, and you couldn’t help the snort of laughter that escaped past your lips before you could stop it. “Hey, you laughed. Point: Sans.”

 

“Yeah, well…” You faltered a bit, remembering the sight of that blue tongue and feeling flustered. “...Shush.” He laughed, a deep, genuine sound, and brushed a lock of your hair behind your ear with a smile you couldn’t help but return. “So. Are you feeling any better now?” His smile faltered a bit, and you pressed onward. “I didn’t ask if you’re okay, just...are you feeling better than you were?”

 

His smile returned, filled with a warmth and appreciation that took your breath away, and he leaned down to press a kiss to your lips. He nuzzled his teeth gently against your bottom lip, and you pressed against him a bit too eagerly.

 

“You’re… a really good distraction.”

 

He stood next to your chair, leaned against the wall, and the two of you talked about all sorts of things. What sorts of movies you actually liked and wished you’d watched, or why the horror movies you saw were so shitty. Papyrus came out after a while to take your mugs and asked if you wanted a refill. You tried not to laugh when Sans asked for hot ketchup instead, and Papyrus’ nasal ridge wrinkled in pure disgust. You talked about life Underground and life on the Surface.

 

Sleep was beginning to lap at you, tugging on the edges of the blanket you had wrapped so tightly around your body to keep in warmth, and it was only after you yawned that you noticed how the stars were beginning to fade from view.

 

The sun rose slowly above the horizon, turning the sky a myriad of pale pinks and yellows, and you could hear Sans take a deep breath next to you.

 

“Y’know, I used to spend a lot of sleepless nights alone,” he rumbled, and you glanced up at him, listening. “I’d spend ‘em workin’ on somethin’ or another, or I’d lay there tryin’ to go back to sleep… But ever since we got to the surface, if I couldn’t sleep, I’d watch the sun rise.” You turned back to the sky, smiling, and he released a deep sigh. “‘s pretty.”

 

“Yeah…”

 

He leaned against your side and touched his forehead to your temple, a rumbling, purring sound rising from his ribcage.

 

“...Thanks, babe.”

 

You felt a warmth on your face that had nothing to do with the rising sun, and when you turned to kiss him this time, your body felt lighter than it had in a while.

 

Unbeknownst to you, he felt the same way.

**Author's Note:**

> If you liked this, feel free to check out my tumblr @life-sans-sin to let me know what you think! Or you can send me suggestions for 'First Time's in my ask box!
> 
> Thank you for reading! Love you guys!


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